These holiday eggnog muffins are a creamy, eggy, buttery rich, custard-like quick bread with nutmeg, liquor, holiday essence and a meringue on top!
Easy Muffin Recipes
Sure, we all love scrumptious apple cinnamon muffins, at the onset of Autumn.
When there is lots of overripe bananas, we want healthy banana muffins too.
However, if the muffin recipe we want to make, isn’t fast and easy, chances are we’ll end up buying a ‘quickie’ at our pit-stop coffee shop, and who knows what’s in those!
I can promise you that the actual nutritional content of my muffins have been carefully chosen, for the love of my children, of whom I created them for.
Homemade Muffins With A Purpose
There’s a good reason I created 52 muffins, in My Muffin Madness cookbook; as a single mom of four, I needed a ‘make-ahead breakfast’ for those insanely busy years.
Not just any ole store bought muffin or boxed muffin, but healthy muffin recipes with less sugar, wholesome ingredients, whether savory muffins or seasonal flavor muffins; like the beloved pumpkin muffin.
Want to know what the best part of this collection of muffin recipes is?
These easy recipe muffins could be (and were), made by the kids (taking turns of course, so no bickering), making my job as a single mom a tad easier.
That is why, in my family, I am known as the Muffin Queen!
Let’s Talk First About A Base Recipe Before I Share My Best Muffin Recipes With You
The good news is that nearly every basic muffin recipe starts out with rather basic ingredients; dry ingredients and wet ingredients, using something to puff them up.
As I pondered every muffin recipe I would create, these were the first two categories I gave much thought to, and where I could incorporate healthy ingredients.
Dry Ingredients, are definitely much more than all purpose flour and baking powder.
This category is the perfect way to build nutritional support into these individual little quick breads.
Options For The Flour Mixture
- Almond flour, or any nut, oat, spelt or barley flake, ground into a flour.
- Whole wheat flour or gluten-free option flour, instead of bleached flour.
- Dry sweetener, can be white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, stevia, or monk fruit sweetener.
- Cocoa powder, carob powder, protein powder, depending on the flavor, or muffin you are making, becomes part of the dry ingredient mixture.
- Warm spices such as our favorite cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, or exotic spices such as Mahlab, Mastic, even root powders such as beets measure into the dry mix.
Wet Ingredient Options
- Some type of fat is needed to make for moist muffins and there are so many choices here, from melted butter, a vegetable oil, nut oils, or simply use the fat in almond butter or peanut butter.
- Eggs contribute much of the rising aspect when baking muffins, and while egg substitutes can be used such as flax egg or aquafaba (the liquid in a can of chickpeas), these options work however the rise or texture may not be quite the same.
- Creamy ingredients have so many options, from the basic milk in your fridge (dairy, coconut milk or almond milk), to Greek yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese.
- The wet aspect of the muffin batter must also take into account, when balancing wet and dry, ingredients such as maple syrup or honey, pumpkin if making pumpkin muffins, squashed banana, fresh blueberries or other fresh fruit juices such as lemon juice. These are wet aspects that need balancing along with the dry ingredients.
Making The Muffin Recipe
Once the wet and dry ingredients have been mixed, along with your favorite add-ins, we are ready to bake.
A muffin tin is most commonly used, metal or silicone, and they are usually lined with muffin liners, also known as cupcake liners.
The use of paper liners makes it easier to remove the muffins once baked, without the added step of having to grease or spray the muffin cups.
I have also included, in my cookbook, a fun Tahini Muffin Tops recipe (in my cookbook), because let’s face it, we usually love the tops most, however these muffin tops tins do need to be greased.
Last is the consideration of the oven temperature.
Regardless of the muffin recipe, I find the best results by placing in a high temperature setting, even if you turn it down after the first 5-minutes of bake time.
This helps to firm a crust on the muffin tops, while baking the inside of the muffin consistently.
Muffins will last about a week in an airtight container in the fridge, but are best served room temperature or as warm muffins.
Best Breakfast Muffin Recipes To Love
Like I said, there are 52 muffin recipes in my cookbook, and I am continually adding more new ones here on my blog.
However, the muffins I am listing here, usually rank at the top of healthy breakfast muffins folks are generally looking for.
- Apple Muffins – Recipe has the added healthy ingredients of oats, nuts and lots of fresh apples for an Autumn hug.
- Zucchini Muffins – European inspired healthier zucchini lemon bread or muffin recipe is made with pure Rapeseed oil, kefir, lots of garden fresh zucchini and two whole lemons.
- Healthy Muffins made of Homemade Breakfast Granola – with oats, bran, spelt, nuts, dried fruits and maple syrup or molasses, is packed with nutrition and no added sugar.
- Strawberry Muffins – this recipe made with millet flour, cottage cheese, both fresh strawberries and dried, can be found in My Muffin Madness cookbook.
- Best Blueberry muffins – are a smoothie bowl To-Go, baked with oats, yogurt, plump blueberries, cardamom, more practical than a bowl!
- Banana Muffin Recipe – are made with barley flour, sweet ripe bananas, olive oil, yogurt and molasses, for the best healthy banana muffins ever.
- Oatmeal Muffins – healthy overnight oat muffins with ginger for our tummy, molasses for bones, oats for everything and cardamom, a cholesterol aid, are muffins for all.
- Sweet Potato Muffins – while this recipe was created around an AB Blood type, and can only be found in my cookbook, its concept was designed from my Sweet Potato Pie.
Best Savory Muffin Recipes
Since I am more of a savory food eater than a sweets eater, I went a bit nuts in creating fun savory muffins that are family favorite whimsical recipes.
Savory muffins are a great way to make a small to-go meal with healthy ingredients.
- Egg muffins – of course these are filled with anything from veggies to sausage and cheese, and are as good for lunch, late-in-the-day snack or a breakfast muffin. Created to be more like a quiche without the crust and are in my cookbook!
- Spanakopita muffins – all the yummy spinach, feta, lemon, fresh oregano and eggs found in spanakopita, made into a muffin, without phyllo!
- Cheeseburger muffins – All your favorite burger ingredients in a muffin batter with another mini cheeseburger on top, pickles and tomatoes!
- Pizza – yes these muffins are also a part of the cookbook and with each bite, you’d swear it was a pizza, with sausage, parmesan crisps and lots of tomato and garlic.
- O-Blood Type Muffin – made with bison or venison, goat cheese, beet greens, pepper flakes and lots of other unique ingredients, this recipe too can only be found in my Muffin Madness cookbook.
Today’s Muffin Is Holiday Eggnog Muffins
The days are short, the nights are long and the chill has set in for the next six months.
I don’t know about you, but I look forward to an afternoon hot tea and a yummy nibble late in the day.
Eggnog muffins, with lots of eggy, custard-like richness, the spices of the holidays and a little boozy flavor (even though the alcohol is baked out), is what I look forward to with a hot cup of tea by 4:00!
Safe To Drink Holiday Eggnog
Eggnog is one of those holiday cocktails that had great popularity back in the 50’s and 60’s but with the understanding of preventative health practices, no one wanted to sip on raw eggs as a holiday cocktail. Yuk!
But then… I came along and fixed that! I created a Cooked Egg Holiday Eggnog that is too fabulous not to bring back the eggnog for holiday sips!
The milk and yolks get simmered to a healthy number. The egg whites get transformed into a meringue and placed on top of the eggnog drink (way healthier than whipped raw egg whites sitting on top raw egg yolks, don’t you think?)!
Eggnog Muffins Are Not Just For The Holidays!
Way back in 2004, I created these eggnog muffins. It was my first attempt to actually enjoy the flavors I love in eggnog, but with cooked eggs.
Muffins, as you must know by now, are my answer to ‘anything you want to eat, crammed into a quick bread’!
These eggnog muffins are rich in eggs, butter, milk and nutmeg. Even a little oat bran in the dry ingredients to give the quick bread a lovely texture.
How To Make Holiday Eggnog Muffins With Meringue Tops
First, you will need some eggnog. You can buy pre-made eggnog or make a lovely batch from scratch (my preference).
The eggnog already has eggs in it, but we will add a few more into this batter, which makes this quick bread, rich, dense and gently sweet yet eggy!
Muffins tins can be used for individual size portions or mini loaf tins can be used to make tea breads to be sliced and served at tea time.
A meringue can be placed on the top of the muffin, whipped cream or butter, or nothing at all!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour
- Oat bran
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggnog
- Eggs
- Nutmeg
Equipment Needed
- Baking cups
- Muffin tin or mini-loaf tins
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Toothpick or baking tester
- Small sauce pan
- Oven
Holiday Eggnog Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- silicone baking sheet for meringues
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Oat bran
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 8 tbsp Butter melted
- 1 cup Eggnog homemade
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg more to sprinkle on top
- Meringue Tops
- 2 Egg whites
- 1 tbsp Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Prepare muffin tins with non-stick spray, or baking paper cups.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, measure out the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
- In a larger mixing bowl, whisk the sugar and melted butter until lighter in color.
- Whisk in one egg at a time.
- Fold in the dry ingredients and eggnog, alternating between the two.
- Once the batter is creamy, place equal amounts into prepared muffin tins or mini-loaves. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of nutmeg.
- Bake until toothpick comes out clean. About 25 minutes.
- Meringue Tops
- While the muffins bake, make the meringues simply by whipping the 2 egg whites with powdered sugar until firm. Place small dollops (size of a quarter), on a parchment paper lined sheet pan or silicone baking sheet, pop in the oven while the muffins bake. Remove from the oven when the tops start to golden in color, keeping an eye on them not to burn, about 5-minutes.
- Place a meringue on the top of each muffin.
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.